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The Real Deal: A Novel
The Real Deal: A Novel
Lauren Blakely | 2018 | Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Lauren Blakely has done it again!
Lauren Blakely has done it again! What an incredibly sweet and charming love story about two people who find that pretending can sometimes be just as exciting as the real thing! Imagine a reversed Pretty Woman story...

In preparation of going home to see the family in Connecticut, April has decided that hiring a pretend boyfriend to keep the family off her back is the next best thing after her bestie stand-in has to bail for a job. Tired of being set-up with every guy her family comes across, all in hopes of leading her back to her hometown and everything she is not interested in... she heads to the family reunion with her Craigslist hired boyfriend on her arm and a great backstory.

Turns out, Theo is perfection from the moment they meet. Ready to create any story she requires, it's obvious the sparks fly immediately with these two. Creating fun backstories that feel all too real for a couple that met only a few days ago.

Can't forget the family aspect here... some people have family and never see how wonderful they are and never know how good they have it. Some have no family and only dream of being "harassed" by those who love you and it was beyond heartwarming to watch such a loving group of people together. April clearly has a wonderful family and they so lovingly welcome Theo and his family into theirs.

So heartwarming, this book brought a smile to my face over and over. Didn't want to put it down yet I didn't want it to end!? Such wonderful characters, I loved April's strength, and determination and listening to the two of them together was beyond adorable. Loved that she was so quick, funny and smart and he was just a sweetheart, afraid of his past, afraid of letting her down, afraid this would never be more than a fake weekend... boy was he wrong!? ;-) Highly recommended read and author!!
  
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Lee (2222 KP) rated Creed II (2018) in Movies

Dec 1, 2018  
Creed II (2018)
Creed II (2018)
2018 | Action, Drama, Sport
An Outstanding Sequel
The first Creed movie breathed fresh life into the tired Rocky franchise, introducing Michael B Jordan as the son of Apollo Creed and having Rocky Balboa mentor him through to becoming a professional boxer. All the familiar key elements were there from previous Rocky movies - the training montages, the love interest, the opponent you can't wait to see defeated. But this new take on it all worked well, resulting in a hugely enjoyable movie, and a sequel was inevitable.

With Creed 2, we get even more ties to the Rocky movies. In a bleak looking Ukraine, Ivan Drago lives with son Viktor. In Rocky IV, Ivan was the man responsible for killing Apollo Creed in a boxing match, before suffering defeat at the hands of Rocky in his hometown of Russia in the epic finale. In terms of cinematic experiences, Rocky IV was the absolute peak of the franchise. So intense, drawing unified cheers and applause from the audience I was watching it with, something you don't very often get in the cinema.

That defeat in mother Russia brought shame on Ivan and he and Viktor now live a simple life, with Viktor being trained daily by Ivan and participating in small local boxing matches, pummeling his opponents and drawing the attention of an American boxing promoter. When Adonis Creed wins the heavyweight title over in America, you can almost see the dollar signs flashing in the promoters eyes, and bringing these two together to settle old scores forms the basis of the rest of the movie.

Those familiar plot beats I described earlier, they're all here again, but that's not to say that they're any less enjoyable than when we've seen them before. At times they're even more exciting, with the added intensity coming from knowing that this is a fight that's been over 30 years in the making.

Despite the traditional halfway lull, with our hero experiencing a period of doubt and self reflection, this is once again another intense and uplifting movie. Brilliant.